The present invention pertains to front loading commodity collection bodies equipped with front forks which can elevate a container holding waste commodities to an elevated position above a top load opening of the collection body.
Historically, commercial waste commodity containers have been available in three basic styles: front loading, in which the container is equipped with fork pockets on the opposing ends of the container so the container can be lifted to a position above the top load opening of the collection body; side loading containers in which the container is equipped with hooks on the front sidewall of the container which may be engaged with engaging catch apparatus on the side-loading collection body; and rear loading containers which are provided with a trunnion bar running along the top edge of the front sidewall of the container, such that the trunnion bar may be engaged with trunnion pockets mounted to the outer wall of a trough carried at the rear of the rear loading collection body such that the rear loading container can be rotated about its trunnion bar and emptied into the rear trough of the collection body.
Because of these three distinctive and mutually exclusive types of containers, it is common for commodity haulers in the refuse and recycling industry to use a specific commodity collection truck equipped with a specific commodity collection body to collect the corresponding front loading, side loading or rear loading containers, with each collection body being capable of collecting from only one of the types of commercial containers. Each different style of specific orientation of commercial container has a specific and differently designed attachment apparatus that corresponds to the specific style of truck, so in order to collect all three of the different types of commercial containers the hauler would need to have three kinds of commodity collection trucks in the hauler's operation.